Balderston 9

Chapter 9: Tuition, Fees, and Financial Aid

This chapter discusses the rationale behind fees and aid. The data is surely outdated, as tuition is listed as $17,000 for private school. What a laugh. Federal, state, and school aid come together to help students pay for school. Private loans are not discussed in this chapter. Aid is a contributing factor to attract students, especially at the doctoral level. Schools compete for exceptional doctoral students with grants and other enticing factors because they bring prestige to the school. Successful graduates validate the work of the university, in turn bringing funding and heightened reputation.

This chapter also discusses the rationale of public schools tuition and taxpayer funding. Public schooling is a right to all who pay for it. Thus, there is an expectation of access. At the same time, these institutions are expected to provide an excellent quality of education. The justification for this is that students who graduate end up becoming successful citizens and contribute to the future of the community's economy. The government is thus making an investment in the community's future.

The trouble with providing access and excellence is the ability to actually guarantee both at the same time. Community colleges come close to guaranteeing access, but need to work on excellence. Here, excellence must be measured by the ability to improve lives on a case by case basis rather than by an overarching standard. If the institution can consistently provide better outcomes for students it is doing its job.